To Kill a Devil
by Nova Harman-Redfern
Summary: Sydney is the school outcast, with a taste for the darkness and supernatural, but as far as she's concerned, it's all only myths and legends. When she's bitten by a vampire, and thrown into Night World, she realises how wrong she is...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: NW belongs to LJS. I am using it only for fun. Sydney Anson, Falcon Darkrose, Jesse Blackthorn, Runa Harman, Kissa Redfern, Magnus Blackthorn and Lapiz Crowe, and anyone else unrecognised belong to me.   
  
Summary: Sydney is the school outcast, with a taste for the darkness and supernatural, but as far as she's concerned, it's all only myths and legends. When she's bitten by a vampire, and thrown into Night World, she realises how wrong she is...  
  
Part 1  
  
Sydney sat in class, bored out of her brains. She sighed, watching the rain fall, wondering why. Why her? Why was she stuck here, in this life, in this town? It was so boring. Nothing interesting ever happened.   
  
She longed for excitement of any kind. She wanted lust, and adventure. Most of the other kids thought she was weird, with her dark, Gothic looks, her fascination with the dark side of life.   
  
She'd have given anything to be part of that side. To be mystical and powerful, then that would show everyone who ignored her. She smiled faintly, toying with a ring she wore, a silver ring with a black flower, a dahlia. Her cousin Runa had given it to her for a birthday present once. Runa was a lot like her, with a taste for darkness. Hell, she even claimed she was a witch. Sydney had seen her perform a few spells, and she did seem to have an almost natural talent for magic, which made Sydney a little jealous. She hardly saw Runa. She lived in a small town, Crystal Valley. No where near as good as it sounded. Boring and small, with a population of no more than 10000. Everyone knew everyone else.   
  
Everyone seemed somewhat scared of her. They didn't like her, cause she didn't follow their rules, where they believed everyone had to do well in school, go to college, get a good job afterwards. Ugh. How dull. Sydney cried out silently for something to happen to her.   
  
But the chances of that happening, were slim to none. She had a sudden feeling then, that she was going to be proved very, very wrong.  
  
* * *  
  
Runa Harman was not pleased. Her friends were not happy about the idea of a human on their turf. Her cousin Sydney was supposed to be coming. It had always been a mystery to her as to why she had a human cousin. Loving a human was supposed to be against the rules of Night World, unless maybe her aunt had broken it.   
  
Runa smiled faintly, always admiring anyone with the guts to break the rules. Sydney at least, seemed to have a taste for the dark side, she liked the occult, which made Runa like her more than most humans.  
  
"What if she finds out about us?" her friend Falcon Darkrose, another witch asked, sitting on Runa's bed.   
  
"She won't," Runa said. "You think I'm stupid enough to let the secret slip."  
  
Runa frowned. She had never broken the law before, and never intended to. But with all her witchcraft books lying around, would Sydney figure it out? Even if she did, would she believe it?   
  
Sydney may have a taste for the dark side of life, but as far as she was concerned, it was all just a story.   
  
At Runa intended to keep it that way.   
  
* * *  
  
Sydney felt uncomfortable, sitting in Runa's room. She'd been introduced to Runa's friends, Jesse and Falcon, earlier. Falcon seemed kind of aloof, and unfriendly, and Jesse was vaguely threatening and scary.  
  
And people think I'm weird, she thought. Both she and Runa had always seemed slightly weird and out of it. Sydney had thought she had more of a taste for the dark side than Runa.   
  
The last time she had been to visit Runa, Runa's room had been decorated in shades of pink and cream. And now...  
  
Everywhere was black and dark purple, swirling Gothic patterns, complete with strange, disturbing paintings, confused abstract sculptures, black candles...  
  
This wasn't the Runa she knew. She focused on Runa's bookshelves, looking at the books. They all seemed to be on magic, and witchcraft, devil worship, Satanism, Death.   
  
She pulled one out and flipped through the pages, spells, curses, charms...  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Sydney looked up to see Runa standing in the door. Runa was tall, dressed in a revealing black top and a long red leather skirt. Purple hair cascaded to her hips, and violet eyes glared at Sydney.  
  
"And you think I'm *weird?*" Sydney said with a snort.   
  
Runa frowned. "What'd you mean?"  
  
Sydney gestured around the room. She had always liked the dark side, but this..."You actually really *believe* in all this?"  
  
Runa took the spell book and put it back on the shelf. She eyed Sydney. "I thought you liked the darkness."  
  
Sydney frowned. "Well, yeah, but this is just...just nuts. Maybe I like it, but I don't pretend I can actually practice Satanism."  
  
Runa was insulted. "I practice dark magic, not Satanism."  
  
Sydney chuckled. But was it really that funny? Maybe it was scary, that Runa was so obsessed with all this stuff, she actually thought she could do the magic.  
  
"Prove it," she said.   
  
Runa blinked. "What?"  
  
Sydney smiled. "Prove it," she said again. "You really think you can do all this shit? I don't believe you. I want to see what you can do."  
  
Something sparked in Runa's violet eyes, anger...and something more. Something...frightening that Sydney had never seen in her cousin's face before.   
  
"You got it," Runa said, with an unpleasant smile. She put the book back on the shelf and walked out.   
  
Sydney sat down on the bed. She hadn't liked the look Runa had given her. She wasn't so sure she really wanted to know if Runa could do magic or not. But she'd asked for it. And something was telling her she really *had* asked for it.   
  
* * *  
  
"Are you out of your fucking *mind*?"  
  
Runa frowned, not looking at Falcon, almost feeling how angry the other girl was. "I got mad," she said.  
  
"You and your ego," Falcon raged on. "We're not supposed to show ourselves to humans, we're all gonna be *killed* for this."  
  
Runa turned her icy purple gaze on Falcon, trying to calm her rising annoyance, and the energy blast she could feel wanting to sizzle out her palms. "Look, who's gonna know?"  
  
Falcon glared back at her. Everyone knew Runa had a huge ego she hated anyone bruising. And more than once it had gotten them into trouble.   
  
"Besides," Runa went on, turning back to her bookcase, and studying the volumes. "We don't even have to do something big and complicated. We can show her something simple like glamour. Hell, even humans can do that one, sometimes."  
  
Falcon still didn't look any happier. Runa didn't care. Let her deal with it however the hell she wanted to. "And of course," she added, a smile curving her lips, "we can always have Jesse blank her mind once we're done then no matter what we do she won't remember anything."  
  
Falcon sighed. "I still don't like this," she grumbled.   
  
To be honest, Runa didn't like it all that much herself, but she was the one who had gotten herself into the mess, and she had to get herself out.   
  
No one told her what a mess it was going to be.  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
Something was wrong. Sydney wasn't exactly sure what. She drew her jacket closer around her. The moon was high in the sky, full, shining brightly, stars littered around it. A cool breeze blew. She glanced around, not liking the surrounding forest.  
  
The road she had to walk down to get back to Runa's house was long and deserted, surrounded by tall, dark trees. In the day time it would have been less creepy. But when it was somewhere she didn't know, that was even creepier.  
  
Footsteps sounded behind her. She tried to ignore them, thinking they had nothing to do with her.   
  
Eventually, she couldn't take in anymore and glanced over her shoulders. Runa's friend Jesse was behind her, close behind...too close.  
  
"Didn't you ever learn it's not nice to sneak up on people?" she snapped.   
  
He grinned at her, showing large white teeth. "I don't do nice," he said.  
  
"Figures," she snorted.  
  
Sydney walked on, and he moved so he was standing beside her. She tried not to look at him. He was big and muscular, and rather scary. He scared her, and from his smugness, she guessed he knew he did, and he enjoyed her fear.  
  
She glanced up at him uncomfortably, but was a little surprised to see him almost staring at her neck. Her neck? What the hell was this guy's problem?  
  
"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked.  
  
"Do what?" he asked, looking away.  
  
"Looking at my neck?" she said, trying to move away. He reached out a strong arm, catching her.  
  
He grinned unpleasantly. "How 'bout I show you?"  
  
* * *  
  
Runa sighed, getting impatient. She had been waiting for Sydney for the past half an hour. Everything was set up for a simple ritual. Falcon was glaring at her furiously, tapping her nails impatiently.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Runa said, impatience rising.   
  
"Where the hell is she?" Falcon snapped. "The sooner we get this over with the better?"  
  
"She was just supposed to go to the store for some candles and matches," Runa said. "The store's a ten minute walk down the road."  
  
"Down the long deserted road surrounded by woods on either side," Falcon pointed out.  
  
Runa frowned, she had forgotten about those woods, full of Night People, and since the sun had gone down, and they would need to feed...  
  
"Oh shit," she muttered. She grabbed her keys and ran out the house, hearing Falcon follow.   
  
There was no sign of life outside. Everything was dark and deserted, the houses by the woods were sparse. Runa headed briefly into the surrounding forest, hearing faint footsteps.  
  
She spotted Jesse, some poor girl in his arms, probably half dead anyway. "Jesse have you seen - "  
  
Jesse's shoulders jerked in surprise and he turned around, his fangs covered in blood, silver eyes glaring at her. "Don't sneak up on me," he snapped.  
  
Runa glared back. She opened her mouth to yell at him, then focused on the victim in his arms.  
  
Sydney.  
  
"You asshole!" she snapped.  
  
"What? She's vermin."  
  
"Found her?" Falcon came on the scene then, and stared at the half dead girl. "Oh."  
  
"She's my cousin," Runa snapped. "You're an idiot," she ranted.  
  
Jesse just shrugged, retracting his fangs. The silver faded from his eyes and his face went back to normal. "She's as good as dead anyway," he added snidely.   
  
"You don't get it do you? My family will raise hell if they find out about this," Runa said. She didn't want to think about how much trouble she'd be in. She was supposed to make sure that this didn't happen. It was dangerous having human relatives, but she had been lectured to make sure nothing happened to Sydney during her visit. And now...  
  
"Maybe Jesse should give her some of his blood," Falcon suggested.  
  
"What good will that do?" Jesse snorted.   
  
Runa opened her mouth to protest. But now she thought about it, she realised there was only one way to actually save Sydney...and that would mean. "Jesse's gonna have to change her," she said heavily.  
  
"Does Jesse get a say in this?" Jesse snapped, clearly not happy. "You realise - "  
  
"And do *you* realise how much trouble we're gonna be in if you don't?" Runa snapped. "We don't have any other choice."  
  
"Fine," Jesse snapped.  
  
Runa sighed heavily. This was a disaster. How was she going to explain it to Sydney if the change even worked? Would it work? It seemed there was only one way to find out...  
  
* * *  
  



	3. Part 3

  
Sydney woke slowly, groggily, groaning in pain. She didn't understand what was wrong with her. She looked around, blinking rapidly. She lay in her bed in Runa's house, everything was the same, and yet, everything was different too. Her vision kept going in and out of focus.  
  
And something inside her felt like it was gnawing at her stomach. She was*hungry*. She stumbled out of bed, dressing in a blue top, black jeans and sneakers conveniently laid out for her on the chair by the bed.   
  
What the hell was the matter with her? Sydney shook her head miserably, in too much pain to bother with brushing her hair. She didn't care. She ran her fingers through her silky black locks once, deciding that would do.  
  
She wandered downstairs, wondering where everyone was. She couldn't hear any sounds, except a tap dripping somewhere, and creaking pipes.  
  
She picked up her keys and left the house, thinking maybe the cool night air would help her feel better. She frowned at the towering woods around her. She really hated these woods. She started down the long road to town, not understanding why she felt so bad. She didn't remember the last few days all that clearly. She had a vague memory of Runa's scary witch books, and Runa getting pissed off when she had laughed and said Runa couldn't do anything. After that things kind of got blurry.  
  
Her head snapped up suddenly as the sound of footsteps approached her. She whirled around, seeing some small guy she didn't know walking down the same road. He glanced at her once, and then glanced away.  
  
He had a throbbing life force inside him, Sydney didn't know how she could sense that. The pain was increasing, but not in her stomach, in her gums. Her teeth. She opened her mouth, not sure what was happening, why her canine teeth seemed to be *growing*...  
  
Her eyes turned back to the boy, who had passed her. He was full of it. Full of the stuff she needed a lot more that he did. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.  
  
He turned around, annoyed. "What's your pro - " he started, then his eyes and mouth went wide with shock. Sydney smiled unpleasantly, then dug her new sharpened fangs into his neck.  
  
At once she felt the pain easing as the boy's hot blood gushed into her mouth, filling her with a wonderful tingling sensation. She felt full of energy, she could run a marathon twice over. She sucked and sucked until she felt the pounding of the boy's heart stop. Then she pulled back, eyeing him critically.   
  
Now what?  
  
She stood alone, wondering what to do. She had just killed someone, and drank his blood. And there was only one creature she knew of that could do that.  
  
But no. That couldn't be right. Vampires were just myths. Myths and stories and material for bad TV shows.   
  
"You're fast."  
  
Sydney turned to se Runa and Falcon watching her. Falcon seemed rather amused, Runa, however; didn't look at that happy.  
  
"You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Sydney asked.  
  
Runa and Falcon exchanged glances. Finally Runa sighed. "All right," Runa said. "Come on and we'll tell you everything."  
  
Sydney let them lead her into the town, and a small café called The Full Moon. The atmosphere was somewhat dark and creepy, but despite the gloom, Sydney found she could see as if it were day.  
  
Huh?  
  
They headed to a small table. Sydney waited. "Well?"  
  
"I'm surprised you're taking this so well," Falcon said dryly.  
"Taking *what* so well?" Sydney snapped. She could feel her annoyance  
rising. The hunger inside had been sated, but she was still confused. She didn't understand anything, she was asking a lot of questions but no one seemed to want to answer her.   
  
"For someone who's just become a vampire," Falcon went on.  
  
Sydney's hearing must have gone funny. That was the only explanation. Either that, or she was going insane. Or maybe this was just a bad dream and she'd wake up in a minute. "Huh?" she said.  
  
Falcon looked at Runa. "This was your idea, you explain," she said.  
  
Sydney glanced over at Runa. "I know I sound like a broken record here, but what the hell is going on?"  
  
Runa sighed. "Don't get mad at us, it's Jesse's fault. He's a vampire and he bit you and we came across him, and to save you from dying I had him make you a vampire."  
  
The fact that Jesse was responsible for all this didn't really surprise Sydney all that much. She had always known there was something weird about him. But vampires being real? That was another story all together.  
  
She sat back, listening as Runa told her about something called the Night World, an organisation of vampires, witches, shapeshifters, other creatures of the night, all the ones everyone thought weren't real, but turned out to be real anyway.  
  
Despite herself, Sydney was fascinated. She had never really fit in amongst the human world. She had always had a taste to the darkness and the supernatural, and now, she had the opportunity to belong to the night completely.   
  
"Well?" Runa asked.  
  
"Well what?" Sydney said. "What am I supposed to say?"  
  
"You're not mad?" Falcon asked.  
  
Sydney shrugged. "Not really." She stood up and left the café then, to see what she could find in the Night. She'd heard interesting things happened in the dark.  
  
* * *  
"She took that well," Falcon said, watching Sydney leaving the club.  
  
Runa frowned, drumming long black nails on the tabletop. "Surprisingly well," she agreed, a little suspiciously.   
  
She knew Sydney had always had a taste for the darkness. She was beginning to wonder if maybe having her changed would turn out to be a huge mistake.   
  
* * *  
  
For the first time in her life, Sydney decided she loved being her. The new Powers she had, the strength, the speed, the darkness that surrounded her...as it turned out, being a vampire was the best thing that had ever happened to her.  
  
No more was she scorned and sneered at. No more did people whisper about her. Now her very name struck fear into the hearts of the humans in her own small town.   
  
What she loved most was the thrill of the hunt, the joy picking out a victim, toying with them and sucking their life force dry. She was fast becoming an expert killer.   
  
She hadn't spoken to Runa or Flacon much since the incident. She'd gotten pissed off at her parents yelling at her for her change in attitude, so she'd killed them.  
  
No one actually knew this, she'd covered herself up very well. She now had the joy of living without being told what to do all the time.   
  
She now had a life worth living. She licked her lips, making sure there was no traces of blood. She glanced down in disgust at the body of the football player who'd dragged her into the boy's locker room. Jerk. He'd paid the price.   
  
"Why'd you kill him?"  
  
Sydney turned in surprise at the sudden voice behind her. She had been so engrossed in the guy's blood that she hadn't noticed anyone else come into the room.  
  
The girl who stood behind her was tall and dark skinned, midnight hair piled on top of her head, eyes that shifted colour like the lights in a glacier. She wore a tight black leather body-suit that showed off her slender body and all her curves. Dark lips were curved in an amused smile.   
  
Sydney recognised her as Kissa Redfern, one of the girls in the tough crowd. Runa had told her the Redferns were the most powerful vampire family in the Night World. She just shrugged. "He pissed me off so I killed him," she said simply.  
  
Kissa chuckled dryly. "Good for you. I didn't realise you were one of us."  
  
"Hey Kissa, what's happening? You were supposed to show up ten minutes ago? And what, pray tell, are you doing in the boy's locker room?"  
  
Sydney looked to see who'd spoken. She didn't recognise the boy coming in, tall, dark, gorgeous. Kissa just eyed him disapprovingly. "I got distracted," she said faintly.   
  
The guy looked at the body. "I can see that."  
  
"I didn't kill him," Kissa said. "She did." She nodded at Sydney.  
  
The guy turned to Sydney, looking surprised. "I didn't know you were one of us." He reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently. "Magnus Redfern," he said.  
  
"Sydney," Sydney said simply, trying not to melt. She saw Kissa rolling her eyes.  
  
"Get a life, Magnus," she snorted. "You flirt with every girl you meet."  
  
"I'm just being nice," Magnus said, aggrieved.  
  
"You and nice do not go in the same sentence," another voice said. Sydney saw another girl coming in. Tall like Kissa, but her skin was fair, her hair blood red cascading to her hips.  
  
"It seems we have a new recruit," Magnus said, slipping an arm around Sydney's shoulders. "We have a new made vampire here."  
  
"Who made you?" the redheaded girl asked.  
  
"Jesse Blackthorn," Sydney said. She wasn't all that mad at Jesse, really. In fact, she was rather grateful to him for giving her the chance to develop herself.  
  
The redhead snorted. "How'd you convince him to change you?"  
  
Sydney sighed. "Long story," she said dismissively. The details weren't any clearer to her.   
  
"Lapiz, you're being rude," Magnus chided, an amused smile on his face. "Sydney, this is Lapiz Crowe, she's a shapeshifter. Kind of not hard to guess what."  
  
Lapiz shook her head in disgust. "You're a jerk, Magnus."  
  
New recruit? Sydney hadn't expected that to happen, but if they wanted her, she was more than happy to join them, and join them she did.  
  
She had a place in their crowd, they accepted her like one of their own. They were as bad and destructive as she was. Kindred spirits. They were just like her.  
  
This was the way life was meant to be lived.  
  
* * *   
  
  



	4. Part 4

Runa was unhappy. She just couldn't understand the change in Sydney. The girl had always had a taste for darkness, and now she belonged to it completely. Hell, she was even sleeping with Magnus Blackthorn. She had never known Sydney to be bad before, but Sydney was not only bad now...she was worse.   
  
"This is all your fault," she snapped at Jesse, who sat with her and Falcon at the local Black Iris.   
  
"Why my fault?" Jesse asked, blowing out on a cigarette.   
  
"You bit her. If you hadn't then none of this would be happening." Runa took a large swig of her Vodka Martini. She shook her head in anger. It was all Jesse's fault, cause he was such an arrogant bastard.   
  
"So she killed one or two people, give her a break," Jesse said, smiling a little ignoring her comments.  
  
Runa didn't say anything. Sydney had killed more than "one or two people." She was a walking nightmare.   
  
"This probably isn't the best time to mention this, but I heard Circle Daybreak have a hit out on Sydney and Marius and the rest of their gang," Falcon said.   
  
Runa turned to look at her. "Oh great," she muttered. What had happened to Sydney was partly her fault, so Runa felt kind of responsible for her cousin's actions. "I guess I should tell her."  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney smiled, dropping the body in a Dumpster. She was really getting the hang of this. Magnus of course, was teaching her all the tricks of the trade, and another trade too, she thought, a dreamy smile. He was incredibly sexy.   
  
"Sydney?"  
  
Sydney frowned, turning to see Runa standing at the edge of the alley way. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I have some news." Runa looked almost nervous, which made Sydney smile.  
  
"What?" she asked.   
  
"Circle Daybreak have an assassin after you."  
  
"Oh." The news didn't surprise her that much. Magnus had already mentioned something about this to her, but he had told her not to worry about it.  
  
Runa was looking at her, seeming surprised.   
  
Sydney smiled faintly again. "What?"  
  
Runa shook her head. "I don't know. I guess I expected more of a reaction."  
  
Sydney laughed, the harsh sound cutting into the night. "You expected me to be scared? Please. Daybreak don't scare me. Go away Runa."  
  
Runa went away. A Daybreak assassin. Ooh, scary. No problem. They'd find out who and take care of them. Right?  
  
* * *  
  
He watched the girl from the shadows. She had been human once. Seeing her now was hard to believe. Hell, he had even liked Sydney. Unfortunately, she'd changed and become a murdering bitch.   
  
Arwan stood in the shadows of the dark alley way, watching Sydney and her new boyfriend, all over each other. Sydney left, blending into the darkness.  
  
Gripping his stake Arwan moved forward, plunging it into the guy's heart. He gibbered uselessly before his skin started collapsing in on itself and he turned into a bag of old bones.  
  
Arwan smirked. One down, three to go. He whistled cheerfully, in a very good mood. Scum. Monsters. They all deserved to die.   
  
* * *  
The next evening Sydney was bored. She stared out the window of her house, gazing into the night. She hadn't seen Magnus all day, and he didn't answer his phone when she tried to call him. Kissa hadn't been at school either. Neither had Lapiz for that matter.  
  
But they were Night People. Why did they need to bother with stupid human school?  
  
Hunger was starting to stir inside her. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She decide to call at Lapiz's and Kissa's apartment. Maybe she could convince them to come to the Black Iris with her or something.  
  
She headed over to their building, heading into the apartment without being invited. Lapiz was running around, red hair flying, throwing clothes into suitcases.   
  
Sydney smiled, amused. "Where are you going?"  
  
Lapiz looked at her, her eyes wide with fear. "Didn't you hear?" she asked.  
  
Sydney's head tilted. "Hear what?"  
  
"Kissa and Magnus are *dead*. A vampire hunter got them." Lapiz slammed her suitcase shut, and grabbed her keys. "I'm getting the hell out of here. You should too." And she was gone.   
  
Sydney frowned. She wasn't going to run. She was going to fight this jerk.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Runa didn't even know why she was bothering anymore. She had tried to warn Sydney about the vampire hunter, Magnus and Kissa were actually *dead* and there was a rumour going round that Lapiz had run off in fear.  
  
And yet Sydney wasn't moving. She just eyed Runa with contempt when she even suggested it.   
  
"But if this guy can get *Magnus* for God's sake..." Runa said.  
  
She and Sydney were sitting in the Black Iris, and Runa was desperately trying to convince her cousin to get out of town and not suffer the same fate.   
  
Sydney snorted. "God has nothing to do with this," she said in disgust. "Hell, if things like us exist, what even makes you think there is a God?"  
  
Runa sighed, not really in the mood for a theological conversation. Although Sydney did have a point. "The point is..."  
  
"The point is, this conversation is a waste of time," Sydney snapped. "I appreciate the concern, but a vampire hunter doesn't scare me. Why should I run? That's the equivalent of giving in."   
  
Runa sighed again. She should have known better, but had felt maybe it was worth a shot. She had turned her cousin into a monster, but at least a monster with some courage. Sydney stood up then, making as if to leave.  
  
"Where are you going?" she demanded.   
  
Sydney glanced back at her. "To fight this vampire hunter, where else?" And with that she left.   
  
* * *  
Arwan broke into Sydney's apartment easily. For a vampire, the girl wasn't very smart really. Most would have been sensible enough to at least ward their houses or have a witch do it for them. But this place had no guards of any sort.   
  
It was sheathed in darkness, and he knew she wasn't home. He found her room and waited.  
  
* * *   
The minute Sydney got home she knew she wasn't alone. The lock on the front door was broken, and the doorknob spun uselessly in her hand. Well, well. It looked like she had some company.   
  
She headed up to her room to find it occupied. The vampire hunter stood there, dressed in black from head to doe, the only part of his face showing his mouth and bright blue eyes.   
  
She folded her arms and stood there. "I know why you're here. Let's get this over with."  
  
He smiled faintly, pulling out a stake. "My pleasure." And he ran at her.   
* * *   
  
  
Sydney snorted in disgust, simply moving out of the way as the guy charged at her. She shook her head in amusement. Humans could be so predictable sometimes.   
  
She grabbed his wrist flipped him over, sending him crashing to the floor with a bone-shattering crunch. She knelt on top of him, her knees digging into his lungs. She smiled, feeling her fangs extend. She pulled off the ski mask, revealing a reasonably cute face, nice blue eyes, messy blond hair.   
  
"Arwan? Since when were you a vampire hunter?" she asked, slightly surprised. She recognised the guy from her science class in school. He sat at the back and hardly ever opened his mouth. They had worked on a few projects together.   
  
He shrugged. "I've always been Daybreak," he said.  
  
Sydney shook her head. "What a waste." And she sank her teeth into his neck.  
  
But instead of a warm rush of tingling heat from blood flowing into her mouth her mind felt like it exploded from within. Her nerves felt as if they were being frazzled, a white light was growing, trying to pull her closer to him, mentally rather than physically.   
  
Before she knew what was happening images and pictures were flashing through her mind, feelings she didn't understand. Wonder, surprise, longing...  
  
Then she realised what was strange. These were *his* memories, *his* feelings. And she wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew that while she was inside his mind, he was in hers.   
  
~What the hell is this?~ she asked.  
  
~It's called the Soulmate principle~ he answered, seeming a little baffled. ~It's the idea that there's one and only one true love for everyone on earth and when you meet that person you know they were the one you're meant to be with forever. And...well...~  
  
~How do we *stop* it~? Sydney asked.  
  
~Do we have to? It's really not so bad...~  
  
Sydney shook her head, and took her fangs out his neck. At the same time, the white light faded, and she found herself in her darkened bedroom, still kneeling on top of him. She moved off him slowly. He sat up.   
  
"So now what?" she asked. "Are you still going to kill me?"  
  
Arwan studied her for several minutes. She was his soulmate, his one and only, and he was supposed to kill her. But could he do that? It wasn't her fault she had become a monster. That was someone else's fault.  
  
Finally he shook his head. "No," he said. "Daybreak will understand. They'll help you readjust."   
  
Sydney stared at him in utter horror. Not shocked by the idea that he wasn't going to kill her anymore, after the discovery of a soulmate connection, that was pretty much a given. But what shocked her was the idea he actually expected her to join *Daybreak.*  
  
Runa had told her about it, and to Sydney, it sounded too stupidly idealistic for her. Not the type of place she wanted to end up in. She looked at him and folded her arms. "Fuck Daybreak," she said bluntly. "Why does everyone always have to live happily ever after there? Why can't you join the Night World and live happily ever after in the darkness?"  
  
Arwan stared at her. Was she *kidding?* "Because Night World are evil," he said flatly.  
  
Sydney sighed. Men. They were impossible. "Look, that's what I thought, up until I learned the good side of being bad." She smiled. "Try it, maybe you'll like it."  
  
Arwan stared at her. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he realised he would never be the same without her, so why not? "Okay."  
  
Sydney stared at him in surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to agree. She grabbed the front of his jacket, pulled him close and kissed him. The white light and sparks of the soulmate connection weren't so shocking and painful this time, and in fact, rather pleasant. Then an idea struck her. "Wait here, I have to make a phone call."  
  
Arwan stared after her, wondering where she was going and who she was calling. He was guessing if he was planning on joining Night World he couldn't really stay human. As far as he knew you couldn't just go changing people without permission. He vaguely wondered what being a vampire was like. When Sydney came back with a huge grin on her face, he guessed he was going to find out.  
  
Sydney smirked, feeling in a really good mood. She pulled him to his feet. "Come on," she said.   
  
He allowed her to pull him up. "Now where are we going?"  
  
She grinned. "We're going to have fun."   
  
She took his hand and they walked out together into the night.  
  
THE END.   
  



End file.
